Despite being published in 2011, our “Most Expensive Keywords in Google AdWords” infographic has remained one of the website’s most linked to pages. Who knew Average CPC data have a longer shelf life than Vegemite?
(I had to get that out of the way. I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.)
The premise underpinning that sliver of SEO magic was simple: leverage data from our Free Keyword Tool in order to figure out which keywords carried unfortunately wallet-thinning CPCs. People (probably you!) loved it. They continue to cite it to this day.
But a lot’s changed since 2011: as a company we’ve gotten bigger, faster, and stronger with age. Like Micky Rourke. In keeping with this growth, we thought it high time to revamp our Most Expensive Keywords research and the resulting infographic(s). You know, give it a little facelift. A nip here. A tuck there. Also like Mickey Rourke.
Simply rehashing our previous keyword research would’ve been bad value for you, our cherished blog visitors, so we took it to the next level. How? By creating currency-specific iterations of the Most Expensive Keyword Infographic. At the bottom of this post, you’ll find links to our USD and GBP infographics. (Versions for CAD and ZAR are coming soon!) Be sure to check them all out (results vary in some idiosyncratic ways: I’ll take “hair transplant” for $31.37, Alex)
With that, here are the 25 Most Expensive Keywords in AdWords, Australian Edition…
What are the most expensive AdWords keywords in Australia?
“Fosters” is Australian for beer. Neither “beer” nor “Fosters” made the list of Australia’s most expensive AdWords keywords. Speaking of, here it is again, au naturel (because robots and sad people love tables!).
| Keyword | Average CPC |
|---|---|
| Lawyer | $46.25 |
| Workers Comp | $23.14 |
| Insurance | $22.62 |
| Health and Fitness | $20.81 |
| Child Charities | $20.44 |
| Business Software | $20.36 |
| Internet | $20.15 |
| Business Services | $19.74 |
| Finance | $19.74 |
| Degree | $18.38 |
| Medical Health | $17.79 |
| Car Finance | $17.36 |
| Education | $17.11 |
| Loans | $16.71 |
| Mortgages | $16.43 |
| Pension | $16.40 |
| Rubbish Removal | $15.64 |
| Solar Panels | $15.43 |
| Financial Trading | $15.07 |
| ISO9001 Consulting | $15.05 |
| Payment System | $14.70 |
| Leaking Shower Service | $14.53 |
| Roller Shutters | $14.25 |
| Speed Bump | $13.94 |
| Transportation | $13.80 |
What makes these keywords so expensive?
In some cases it’s obvious, right? Lawyers are expensive and competition for the honor to helm your fledgling lawsuit is fierce, therefore CPCs for legal keywords are particularly pricey. Some of the other categories, though, seem odd to me. For example, I had no idea that, much like Wu-Tang, Australia is for the children: “Child Charities” came in at number five on the list. And what about roller shutters? How sunny is it down under? Do houses have more windows? Someone, help me.
Other niches, particularly the ones that convey urgency (I see you, leaking shower service) or necessities (like, oh I don’t know, education or the internet) parallel similar keywords in the other regions we researched.
A few more musings for those who stayed past Vegemite…
Aussies: An AUDly Litigious bunch
American’s get a bad rap for being trigger-happy in the legal arena, but it appears to be a transcontinental affliction. Particularly interesting is just how much more expensive keywords in the legal field are than any other vertical in AU.
While keywords related to the legal field are pricey in the US, their cost is not astronomically higher than the other expensive verticals (business services, casinos, and the ultra-America bail bonds market, for example, have higher average CPCs); in Australia, though, legal terms are almost twice as expensive as the number 2 keyword on our list, workers comp.
CREAM, a worldwide ideology
It blew my mind that so many of the most expensive keywords in Australia fall squarely into a bucket I’ll call “Money Stuff.” Feast your eyes…
- Insurance at #3
- Finance at #9
- Car finance at #12
- Loans at #14
- Mortgages at #15
- Pension at #16
- Financial trading at #19
- Payment systems at #21
That’s right, people. Almost 33% of the most expensive keywords in Australia have something to do with money. And as if that wasn’t enough, another three of the keywords on our list (Business software at #6, Business services at #8, ISO9001 consulting at #20) are also business related. Y’all work too hard.
That being said…
Stay fit. Visit with quacks. Profit.
Since my only real exposure to Australia comes from a combination of a digeridoo my dad brought back with him after a business trip, the soap opera Neighbors, and filmographic gem Kangaroo Jack, I had a hunch the folks Down Under were a health-conscious bunch.
That being said, I never would have imagined that both “Health and fitness” and “Medical health” would crack the list (let alone occupy top spots).
***
Since you asked, my vote for Australia’s costly keyword MVP is “speed bump,” coming in at number 24 on the list (with an average CPC of $13.94).
I like to believe that all over Australia there exist both speedbump-purchasing municipalities and young ruffians converting overconcerned signage into images of car-struck cassowaries.
A guy can dream.
More geos!
Most Expensive Keywords – Canada (coming soon!)
Most Expensive Keywords – United Kingdom
Most Expensive Keywords – South Africa (coming soon!)
About the data
Here’s how we got the list: We pulled all the data collected from anonymous AdWords Performance Grader reports across all industries between June 1, 2016 and June 12, 2017, then looked at the top 1000 most expensive keywords seen during that time period and categorized them by core intent.
For example, we lumped the keywords “fitness course” and “personal trainer” into a single category since the core intent is the same. Likewise, keywords involving different types of lawyers (which happens to be the most expensive grouping in our AUD data set) or insurance were grouped together. We used a similar methodology when we created our first “Most Expensive Keywords” infographic back in 2011 so as to avoid featuring too many specific long-tail or local keywords that wouldn’t have broad applicability to a large number of businesses. We separated distinct services (pest control vs. termites) as much as possible.
We also filtered out keywords with less than 100 clicks from our data set. We only looked at advertisers bidding in USD, AUD, CAD, and ZAR, and analyzed different currencies separately. We also eliminated non-English ads and duplicates (where both the keyword and the CPC were exactly the same) from that set. The results you’re reading about in this article are in AUD.
(Thank you to everyone who helped compile, analyze, and illustrate the data: our data analyst Josh Brackett, our web team leader Meg Lister, and our designer Kate Lindsay!)
About the Author
Allen Finn is a content marketing specialist and the reigning fantasy football champion at WordStream. He enjoys couth menswear, dank eats, and the dulcet tones of the Wu-Tang Clan. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.